Norwegian Cruise Line Named World's Best at 2026 Cruise Awards
Winners were chosen through a year-long vote by cruise professionals and the public, with the highest vote-getter in each category receiving the award.
Norwegian Cruise Line won “World’s Best Cruise Line” at the 2026 World Cruise Awards, ahead of nominees including MSC Cruises, Royal Caribbean International and Silversea. Winners were announced October 12 at the sixth annual gala, held at Princess Grand Jamaica as part of World Travel Week Jamaica.
Other top awards went to Dubai’s DP World Mina Rashid for “World’s Best Cruise Terminal” and Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas for “World’s Best Large Cruise Ship.” The ship accommodates 5,610 passengers at double occupancy and entered service in January 2024.
Cruise industry professionals and members of the public voted over a year-long selection process, and the nominee with the highest vote count in each category received the award.
“World Cruise Awards had the privilege of recognising brands that are stellar examples of excellence in their field,” said Chris Frost, managing director of World Cruise Awards.
Destination awards span ocean and river cruising
Abu Dhabi received “World’s Best Cruise Destination.” The emirate, which handles cruise traffic at Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal at Zayed Port and Sir Bani Yas Cruise Beach, recorded more than 693,000 cruise visitors across 158 port calls in 2024. Some cruise lines have revised their 2026–27 schedules to avoid Gulf ports amid the crisis in the region.
Vietnam secured both “World’s Best River Cruise Destination” and “Asia’s Best Cruise Destination.”
Lisbon took “Europe’s Best Cruise Destination,” ahead of a field that included Barcelona, Athens, Rome, Monte Carlo, Nice, Oslo, Dubrovnik and Southampton. Portugal also received “Europe’s Best River Cruise Destination.”
Madeira’s Port of Funchal added another Portuguese win with “World’s Best Cruise Terminal for Sustainability.” That award recognized work by Madeira’s port authorities on sustainability, digitalization and the energy transition.
Elsewhere, Jamaica won the Caribbean destination category, Seychelles took the Indian Ocean title and Mexico received the Latin American award. Prince Edward Island was selected for North America, while Auckland Island won for Oceania.
Who won the specialist categories
Australis received “World’s Best Expedition Cruise Line,” while Pandaw won “World’s Best River Cruise Line.” Pandaw operates across Asian countries including India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. DouroAzul took the European river cruise line title.
Individual ship awards also covered dining, family travel and romance. Sun Princess won for dining; its seven specialty restaurants include Crown Grill, Sabatini’s Italian Trattoria and The Catch by Rudi.
Disney Wish received the family award. The ship offers live productions based on The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, Frozen- and Marvel-themed dining, water slides, sports courts and a movie theatre.
Celebrity Apex won the romance category. Its venues include the adults-only Solarium pool and the cantilevered Magic Carpet platform.
